lab-notebook-guidelines_edited-2

							The Laboratory Notebook and Report – Beginning Level

(excerpt from document by Daniel J. Williams, Ph.D. KSU Chemistry Dept)

You are to keep a laboratory notebook as a record of your activity in the laboratory. This
laboratory notebook is your working copy for record keeping in the lab. It should serve as the
only documentation of your laboratory observations, and thus should be kept very carefully.
Generally the book itself should be some type of hardbound volume (eg. no spiral-bound, comb-
bound, or loose-leaf notebooks). Your notebook should be like an appendage (like an arm or a
leg) to you in the laboratory. In other words, you go nowhere without it.

Guidelines for maintaining the notebook:
   - All entries should be made in ink.
   - Nothing should ever be erased, “whited-out”, or in any way obliterated from your book.
       If a mistake is made, strike it out with one line and write in the corrected information
       below the original entry.
   - At the end of each lab, you should sign and date the last page of that lab.
   - If a page is not entirely used, you should draw a diagonal line to the bottom and place
       your signature and date there.
   - Never leave any pages blank. With your next lab period, start your record keeping on the
       next page.
   - All graphs, charts, spectra, or other outside hardcopy data should be attached into your
       notebook in the proper location. Whenever you add outside hardcopy, sign and date it.
   - The organization of the lab notebook should be logical.
   - Reserve the first two pages for a table of contents (TOC). Start page 1 as the next page
       after the TOC and number each page until you reach the end of the book.

For more information concerning the laboratory notebook including the proper format for
keeping your laboratory records, it is recommended that you consult the website provided by the
Scientific Notebook Company (http://www.snco.com/instruction.htm).

Suggested Notebook Format (for each lab)

I. Title.

II. Brief description of purpose for doing lab.

III. Materials needed. Here is where you make a list of all the equipment and chemicals needed
for the experiment. You should be able to get this information from your lab handout.

IV. Outline of procedure. You need not copy it verbatim. It should be in the format of you
telling yourself what to do each step of the way.

V. Results and calculations. Here is where you put the data you collect. If your handout has a
data table, draw it in your notebook. This will be where the data is entered, and not on your
report form. You will transfer the data to the report form once you have determined that it is
useable and that all calculations are correct.
Suggested Laboratory Report Format


You may use the same format for a formal written report as you use for the lab notebook. The
only modifications needed are making sure that you write in complete sentences instead of
outline form, especially in the description of the procedure. Wherever possible, report your data
in table form. Here’s a general outline to follow for your written reports

A.     Title: You may use the same title as the one in your lab manual.

B.     Author(s): Typically the first author is the one responsible for the writing of the report. The
       second author should be your lab partner.

C.     Introduction: In this section you state your reasons for doing this particular experiment and
       the theoretical background related to the problem being investigated. Be as brief as
       possible.

D.     Experimental: Write the procedure used in this experiment. List any chemicals used.
       Make a brief narrative written in third person passive of what you actually did in the
       laboratory. Example: Instead of saying “I weighed out 5.00 g of TNT on a top-loading
       balance” you would write “On a top-loading balance, 5.00 g of TNT were weighed out.”
       Notice it did not say “5.00 g of TNT were weighed out on a top-loading balance.” It’s poor
       style to start sentences with numbers. This is where your lab notebook should be a valuable
       resource if you have carefully noted your activities. Results are not to be presented in this
       section. Include drawings of any unusual equipment used.

E.     Results and Discussion: Present the experimental results you determined in the
       laboratory. These are the measured values and characteristics you observed while doing
       the procedure. Use tables where appropriate. In this section you are also to draw
       appropriate conclusions based on your data and relate them to the problem originally
       stated in the introduction.

Your laboratory reports should be brief and to the point. They should be in your own words
according to your understanding of the problem being investigated. Plagiarism will be dealt with
as outlined in the school policies concerning academic dishonesty.




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CHEM 1212L
CHEM 1212L
CHEM 1212L